Ian the Porn Star
by Kurosaki's Curse
Summary: NO Adult Content, despite the title. Gaia Online fan fiction, that picks up where the Verdict update in the Trial of Ian left off.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** Ok, so Lady Macbeth totally came up with this idea during Ian's trial, and we were batting the details back and forth when the Verdict update was posted; that changed a few things for us (OMG Poor Ian! TT) but we were able to work the details out so that the Verdict update could be worked into this storyline. (And yes, you will find instances of things like "Homigosh" or "Oh Em Gee" in the fic instead of typical normal English. I'm trying to keep this as close to the feel of Gaia as possible while still being readable for normal people.) 

This is just for fun. I realize that there's no way the storyline is going to go this direction (Gaia **is** a PG-13 site, after all), but it was a good way to kill some time and have fun being sick and twisted while all the other Gaians were busy making asses of themselves or picking on the ones making asses of themselves. v

This fic will also have some NC-17 type stuff later (like the title would suggest), but since that has to be cut out for this site, I'll have the adult version on my Media Miner account.

* * *

"IAN!" Sasha screamed as she watched Ian fall backward onto the stone steps of the courthouse. He landed with a sickening thud and tumbled down the steps to the ground; Rufus likewise fell beside him. 

Moira, numb with shock, let her hand slip from Sasha's shoulder as the island girl ran forward. The police officer that had been guarding the door to the courthouse reached Ian at the same time Sasha did.

"Ian!" Sasha cried again. She reached for the prone man, but the police officer reached out and stopped her.

"Don't move him," the officer instructed. "He's injured, and we have a crime scene here." He waved to two other officers who had appeared in the doorway at the sound of the commotion. They hurried down the steps and started to move the crowd back.

Sasha kneeled down next to Ian. She put her face into her hands and sobbed. "Who would do this?" she cried. "Who would want to shoot Ian? He's a wonderful person…"

The police officers finished cordoning off the area and moved back to the steps. They examined the area where Ian had fallen for any clues; the officer kneeling next to Ian was fishing in his pocket for something to stop the bleeding.

"Fortunately, it doesn't look like a fatal wound," he said. "If we can get him to a doctor, he should be all right."

One of the two on the steps called down to their fellow officer. "The bullet went clean through," he said. "It's lodged here in the ground." He pointed to where the second officer was marking a circle with chalk.

Just then, Gino pushed his way through the crowd and came up behind Sasha. "Oh man…Ian!" he said.

Vanessa appeared beside him. "I called a doctor," she said. "They're on their way."

"How did this happen?" Gino asked.

"I think everyone would like to know that," Moira replied. She walked up and stood next to Vanessa. She gazed around and her eyes came to rest on the clock tower. "Strange," she said. "It's the same time of day as when Johnny Gambino was shot." She glanced quickly at Gino. "Sorry," she said.

"No, no, it's quite all right," Gino replied. "In fact, you're right – it's the **exact** same time of day as when my dad was shot." He straightened up and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the clock face on the tower.

"You don't suppose it's the same person who did it, do you?" Vanessa asked. "I mean, a gun like that is hard to come by – even Edmund doesn't sell anything like that, and he has some of the rarest and most expensive stuff around."

"We can't rule anything out at this point," Gino said. "I'm going to do some checking around; my dad had connections with most of the rare items dealers. I'll start with them."

"Be careful, Gino!" Sasha exclaimed. She raised her tear-stained face to look at him. "First it was your dad, now it's Ian – **anybody** could be shot next!"

"Don't worry, Sasha," Gino said. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'll be all right – if I can manage Jack and Santa, I can manage whatever crazy is doing this." He gave her a quick nod and then disappeared back into the crowd.

Just then, there was a soft groan from the ground. "Unh…Sasha?" Ian's eyes fluttered open and peered blearily around.

"Ian!" Sasha exclaimed. "I'm right here." She grasped his hand in hers and leaned over him.

"W-what happened?" Ian asked slowly. "I must have hit my head when I fell…I have such a headache…" He tried to sit up but winced in pain and lay back again. "Shoulder hurts," he gasped.

"You were shot, Ian," Moira said. She kneeled down next to Sasha. "Thankfully, the bullet didn't kill you – but you should stay still until the doctors get here."

"Sh-shot?" Ian whispered. "Who…?"

"We don't know, Ian," Sasha said. "But we're going to find out. Gino just left to start asking some people he knows. There might be some connection to the person who shot his dad."

"What?" Ian asked. "The person who shot Johnny Gambino? Why would he want…" His voice cut off with a choked gasp as a jolt of pain ran through his shoulder. "Why would he want **me** dead too?"

"It doesn't make any sense," Vanessa said. She wrapped her arms around herself. "It's downright creepy, is what it is. Do **all** of us have to be afraid of being outside at noon, now?"

Ian started to sit up again, but a wave of lightheadedness overcame him and he slumped back to the ground.

"Ian?" Sasha cried. "Are you all right?"

"Dizzy…" Ian replied. "And tired…"

"Just hang in there, Ian!" Sasha begged. "The doctors are on their way. You'll be fine soon!"

Ian gave her a weak smile and lightly squeezed her hand. "Sasha…" he began.

They were interrupted as a trio of white-coated doctors emerged from the crowd. They carried a stretcher and medical bags, which they promptly set down beside Ian. "Let's have a look," one of them said.

Ian gasped and trembled slightly as the doctor pulled the blood-stained fabric away from the gunshot wound. The doctor then lifted Ian enough to look at the back of his shoulder.

"The wound goes all the way through," the doctor said. "Let's get him back to the clinic so we can lay him down on a bed; we need to be able to clean this wound out and get him stabilized before we can truly assess the damage."

The other two doctors helped him carefully move Ian onto the stretcher, then they lifted him off the ground in a smooth motion.

"I'm going with you!" Sasha exclaimed. "And we need to bring his cat, Rufus. Rufus goes everywhere with Ian." She quickly scooped up the prone cat and scrambled to her feet.

"Let's go, then," the head doctor said. "Time is of the essence."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Wow. Yeah, that last chapter was short and craptastic. Had to get the boring stuff out of the way, though, so it's all good. Hopefully this chapter does a better job of being entertaining.

* * *

Ian sat up and looked around. He wasn't sure where he was; everything was dark, and there was nothing that he could feel under him that would give away his location. He sat quietly for a moment and listened; at first, there was no sound, but gradually the sound of soft crying came to his ears. He thought it sounded a lot like Sasha. 

"Sasha?" he called. "Sasha, where are you?"

There was no reply. Ian scrambled to his feet. He realized his shoulder didn't hurt anymore; his headache was also gone too. However, the all-consuming darkness was almost worse. He looked around frantically for the sun-kissed girl.

"Well, this is surprising," a deep voice said behind him.

Ian spun around. His eyes widened in shock and he stumbled backward a few steps. "Johnny Gambino?"

"The same," the burly blonde replied. "Don't look so shocked, Kid. It seems the crazy sniper got you as well."

"N-no!" Ian stuttered. "I…Moira said it didn't kill me! It was just my shoulder…" Ian reached up and felt under his jacket for the bullet wound; he drew back his hand in shock when he couldn't find it.

"Yeah, my wound is gone too," Gambino replied. "And damn if it didn't hurt when I was shot. I think the look on poor Gino's face was worse, though," he added. "The boy had only that moment recognized me again; I turned to pick him up and the next thing I know I'm reeling in pain and falling from my tower. What a miserable way to go."

Ian shook his head. "I can't be dead!" he exclaimed. "This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life! And Sasha…Sasha was right there! I was ready to tell her…to tell her that I…" He crumpled to the ground with the realization that he was never going to be able to tell her how he felt now. "Sasha…" He bit into his fist.

"Sasha, hmm?" Gambino asked. "Oh yes, that cute tanned girl with the blonde highlights – the one who runs Gambino Outfitters. That's too bad; she doesn't deserve to lose someone she loves."

Ian punched the ground. "If only I had it to do over again! I…I wouldn't hesitate anymore. I'd let her know how I feel – I'd let her know right away! I don't want to lose her like this – or the rest of my life for that matter. There's so much I have to do yet! I can't let my family down like this."

"I know how you feel, Kid," Gambino said sympathetically. "I wasted so much time in that ridiculous quarrel with the Von Helson sisters…I could have been spending that time with Gino; maybe he'd have recognized me sooner. I could have put the money I sunk into that accursed tower into building better and more useful things for Gambino Island – for all of Gaia for that matter! To die with regrets is truly a miserable thing."

"Gino…" Ian said quietly. The mention of the boy's name brought back bitter memories for Ian – from the time that he and Sasha had found Gino on the beach to the time when Gino had appeared as the Masque at New Year's and literally swept Sasha off her feet in front of him. "You don't have to worry about Gino," Ian told Gambino, "he's a lot like you – he knows how to get what he wants."

Gambino stared at Ian. "Then…then Gino survived? He survived the tower collapsing?"

"Yeah, he survived," Ian said morosely. He tried not to relive discovering the boy on the beach. "He survived and came back better than ever. The whole superhero thing is really wowing people. I'm sure it won't be long before he rebuilds the mansion and lab again so that he can keep on following your work, like he said he would."

"NO!" Gambino shouted. "He can't! I never told him all the details of that work – it can't fall into the wrong hands!"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't for the idea myself, but who listens to me? They wouldn't even listen when I tried to defend myself in court, let alone when I'm saying something that's against the wishes of a Gambino."

"Ian!" Gambino grabbed the brown-eyed man by the shoulders. "You **have** to talk to Gino. You **have **to tell him that the lab can't go unsupervised – it was hidden for a reason! The work being done there can't fall into just anyone's hands!"

Ian shrugged the larger man off. "It's kind of hard for me to tell him, isn't it?" he asked. "We're stuck in the same boat here."

Just then, Ian caught the sound of Sasha's crying again. He looked around. "Sasha?"

The room around him began to brighten. He squeezed his eyes shut against the glare, but even through his eyelids the light was blinding. After a few moments, it faded. Ian could hear Sasha's sobs and slowly opened his eyes.

He found himself lying on his back on a firm bed. The walls and ceiling around him were white, and as he moved his head to the side he caught a glimpse of a white pillow under his cheek and a white sheet covering his body. Sasha was sitting in a wooden chair next to the bed, crying into her hands.

"Sasha?" Ian was surprised by the sound of his own voice; it was dry and quiet.

Sasha's head jerked up and her eyes flew to him. "Ian!" she cried. "Oh, Ian, you're awake!"

"I'm…" Ian blinked and tried to take in his surroundings all at once. He realized he must have been taken to the local free clinic. "Yeah, I'm awake."

Other faces appeared in the doorway. "Oh, he's awake!" Moira exclaimed. She looked behind her. "Guys!" she called. "Ian's awake!"

From the floor beside Ian's bed, a short bark sounded. "Woof! Ian!"

Ian smiled. "I'm glad you're all right, Rufus," he said. He reached his arm over the side of the bed to pet the cat.

Moira walked into the room, followed closely by Vanessa and several others. To his surprise, Ian realized that even Ruby and Peyo were there.

"Ruby! Peyo!" he said. "You two didn't have to come all the way here!"

"You better believe we **did**," Ruby retorted. "After all you've done for us? And Peyo would have never forgiven me if I wouldn't have let him bring his get well card." Even as she spoke, the little boy reached up and placed a small envelope on Ian's lap.

Ian reached for it; he winced as bandages on his shoulder tugged on the still-fresh wound. "Gah…shoulder," he gritted out. He reached over with his left hand and pressed on the wound to alleviate the throbbing.

"I'll open it for you," Sasha said. She reached down and opened the envelope, then drew the card out of it. She handed it to Ian. He smiled; Peyo had drawn a picture of his favorite ducky hat and written 'Get Well' in his large, child-like handwriting inside. A smile surrounded by hearts adorned the signature "Peyo". Ruby had added her own signature underneath.

"Thank you," Ian said. He looked around the room at everyone and then looked again at Sasha. Suddenly, the memory of his conversation with Johnny Gambino came flooding back. It had just been a dream, he realized. A horrible dream, but a dream nonetheless…wasn't it? An unsettled feeling landed in the pit of his stomach.

His face must have reflected the sensation, because Sasha immediately looked concerned. "Ian?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

Ian was thinking fast and thinking hard. "No," he said quickly. "No, there's nothing wrong. I just remembered something that I need to do." He glanced around. "I need to get to the bank. I need to get something out of my safe deposit box."

"I can go to the bank for you," Ruby volunteered. "I'll have Peyo stay here with you; I'm sure he won't be any trouble with all of these people around."

Ian smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks," he said. "Take Rufus with you. He's allowed into my account, and Meredith knows him. I need the white carved box; it's sealed, so just bring the whole thing."

Ruby nodded. "I'll be back in a jiffy," she said. "I'll take the teleporter so that the trip is faster." She scooped up Rufus and hurried out of the room.

Just after she left, a doctor walked into the room. He made his way around Ian's visitors and walked to the side of the bed. "I guessed from all the commotion that you'd woken up," he said. He smiled down at the young man. "You gave everybody quite the start when you passed out on the stretcher like that. But we got you fixed up – I want to keep you here the rest of the day just to be sure that you're not going to have any more fainting spells, and then you'll be able to go home. You'll still need to take it easy, but we can send someone to take care of your bandages and check on you at your house."

Ian nodded. "Thank you," he said. "Thanks to all of you who helped me out, and supported me – it means a lot to me."

"Hey, come on, Ian!" Vanessa quipped. "We've got to keep you around – where else are people going to be able to find those rock-bottom deals that Barton Boutique has?"

Everyone laughed. Ian sighed and smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah," he said. "Barton Boutique…it seems like it's been years since I've been at work. I'll be glad to get back." He suddenly realized that the top of his head was bare. "Hey…" he said. "Where's my hat?"

"The police kept it for evidence," Gino said. He snorted. "We tried to ask them what kind of 'evidence' they could possibly get from your hat, but they're so worked up over this crazy sniper that they wouldn't talk to us."

Ian started to reply but was interrupted by Ruby coming back into the room. Rufus and Meredith followed her.

"Hello, Ian," Meredith said warmly. "I'm so sorry about what's happened to you. Ruby told me all about it when she came to get your box. I hope you don't mind that I came back with her; it's not that I don't trust Ruby or Rufus, I just like to oversee transfers like this myself."

"It's no problem, Meredith," Ian said brightly. He reached eagerly for the box and tried to sit more upright.

Sasha propped him up with his pillows and settled the box on his lap so that he could work the clasp with his left hand. She noticed that his hand was shaking as he fumbled with the latch and peeked inside.

Ian smiled broadly when he realized the contents were still in place, exactly where he'd left them. He quickly turned to Sasha, who looked at him in surprise. "Ian?" she asked.

Ian didn't let himself hesitate this time. He didn't care that almost everyone they knew were in the room with them. He didn't care that Gino Gambino was standing right there by the foot of his bed. All he cared about was the oath that he'd made while talking to Johnny – he'd gotten his second chance, and he wasn't about to waste it.

Everyone in the room gasped as Ian reached over and pulled Sasha into a deep, passionate kiss. Sasha's eyes widened in surprise, and she stumbled a little, falling onto the edge of Ian's bed. He took the opportunity to wrap his arm more tightly around her.

When he finally broke the kiss, she pulled back slightly and stared at him. He smiled back and lifted her hand to kiss the back of her fingers. "I kept hesitating too long, and I almost lost my chance to tell you," he said. "I love you, Sasha. I love you more than anything in this world, even more than my own life." He flipped open the box and revealed a gold ring, set with sparkling diamonds. "Sasha, please – make this the happiest day of my life after all. Marry me, Sasha."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Mweh heh…ebil cliffhanger. Please continue, if you haven't already skipped this to get to the good part and find out what happens. XD Also, I apologize in advance – this is another short chapter. It found its own stopping place before I wanted it to stop.

* * *

Sasha stared at the ring that Ian presented to her. Her mouth moved as if to form words, but no sound came. Ian waited with his heart in his throat as she sorted out her thoughts.

"Ian…" she began. "I…I don't know what to say…this is so sudden…" She looked between his hopeful face and the ring nestled in the box. "Ian, I…I will, Ian," she declared.

Ian closed his eyes and let out a shaky sigh of relief. He held the box up to Sasha. "It's yours," he said. He opened his eyes and looked at her beautiful brown eyes. "It can be resized if it needs to be; it was my grandmother's engagement ring…she left it to me, with instructions that I was to give it to the girl who was right for me."

Tears slid down Sasha's face as she reached into the box and took the ring out. She slid it onto her finger and adjusted the ring so that the diamonds caught the light. "It…fits perfectly, Ian," she choked out. She set the box on a small end table beside the chair and leaned over to kiss Ian again. Her tears of happiness mingled with Ian's as they kissed, but neither could bring themselves to wipe the tears away.

The two of them looked up at the sound of sniffling at the foot of the bed. Moira had a handkerchief out and was wiping tears off her cheeks; Vanessa stood beside her, blinking pooling tears from her own. Even Ruby looked a little misty-eyed as she smiled at the two of them. Ian had a small pang of cruel thought as he wished that he had a camera for the look on Gino Gambino's face.

Behind those four, their other friends coughed or rubbed at their eyes. "Congratulations, you two," Meredith said.

"Thank you, everyone," Ian said. He took Sasha's hands in his own and smiled up at her. "We'll be sure to let everyone know when we have a date set."

"Hey, I'm not one to cut and run," Vanessa said, "But I have to get back to the salon. Besides, I think these two could use some alone time anyway." She winked at the two of them.

The others murmured their consent and started to shuffle out the door. "Come on, hot stuff," Moira said. She grabbed the frozen Gino by the arm. "That means you too. No exes in the room with the lovebirds." She tugged him along behind her as she left.

"OH!" Sasha realized. She sat up and watched them leave. "OH! Oh…darn. Oh, that was mean. I should apologize to Gino." She started to stand up.

Ian caught her arm. "Later," he said. "I…I'll need to talk to him myself, later, anyway." He remembered Gambino's insisting that he talk to Gino. "Right now, I just want to relax – just the two of us."

Sasha settled in beside him on the bed. "Ian," she began, "are you really sure about this? It was so sudden, so out of nowhere…"

"I'm sure," Ian said. He paused. "I…I had a dream, Sasha. After I passed out on the stretcher. I had a dream that I died, and…there was so much I'd left unsaid and undone."

"Tell me about it?" Sasha asked. "Your dream?"

"It was dark, everywhere," Ian said. "There was nothing – nothing at all – except…" he hesitated. "Except…Gambino. Johnny Gambino." He quickly glanced at Sasha. "Please don't think I'm crazy, Sasha," he begged. "I know there's no way I could have talked to him. But in my dream…he was there."

"I don't think you're crazy, Ian," Sasha said. "What did Gambino say to you?"

"We talked about the sniper," Ian said. "Gambino seemed to think that it was the same one who shot him. And…we talked about our regrets." Ian looked at his hands. "I always kept thinking that the right time would be 'later'. It was never 'now'; it was always 'later'. The dream made me realize that 'later' might not always be there. And…he wanted me to give a message to Gino." He paused again. "Which is going to be difficult now. I expect that Gino hates me right now."

"I don't hate you," came the reply from the doorway. Ian and Sasha looked up. Gino walked into the room and stood at the foot of the bed again. "I'm conflicted, yes. I'm surprised, and a little sad, but I don't hate you." There was a moment of silence as he paused. "What did my father want you to tell me?"

"Y-you heard?" Ian asked.

"Yes," Gino replied. "I was waiting for the doctor to release you; I didn't want to leave with things awkward between the three of us. You did so much to help Sasha take care of me – I don't want to believe what that ProsecutionBot said in the courtroom." He looked at Ian earnestly. "My dad was taken from me the moment I remembered him," he said. "Please – even if it was a dream, I want to know what he wanted to tell me."

Ian looked toward the floor. "It was about the lab," he said. "He said that the lab was secret for a reason." He reiterated what Johnny had told him. "I didn't get to ask him what the lab was for; I woke up here in the clinic before he could say anything else."

Gino cupped his hand around his chin in thought. "I haven't been back out to the mansion since it was destroyed," he said. "It was a total loss – the house and lab both burned completely to the ground. The lab wasn't even completely finished yet – I have no idea what might have been inside it." He paused. "But, it's worth looking in to. I don't think it can be a coincidence that someone tried to pin the fire on you and then you ended up targeted by a sniper the day you were released. I think I'll take a couple of guys out to the ruins of the lab and have a look around."

He walked around the bed and stood before Ian and Sasha. He pulled the two of them close together and hugged them both. "And I want you two to know that you have my blessing. I have you two to thank for me being alive right now, and I only want Sasha to be happy. So thank you, and best of luck to you two."


End file.
